Church Security Basics: OODA Loop

Church Security team leaders have expressed frustration with the issue of training, and I have heard from people on the team who don’t necessarily like attending training because it consists of the leader reading policies to them. BOOORING!

I believe training is best done in small bites. I have been to day long trainings where I walk away with about two actual productive hours, and the rest is wasted time because my brain isn’t able to absorb the training. The best training involves learning a skill, then being able to immediately practice it with a lot of reps, then being tested upon the teaching with a short test.

What your team needs are short 10 -20 minute training lessons that can be shared with the whole team or presented in a group session, discussed, practiced, tested and then on you can be on your way. I am developing this course over the next year and I am going to disseminate it on our blog. If you are a member from Free to Legacy, you will have access to the lesson for two weeks. The study guide, test, certificate and video download will be made available for sale at a very reasonable price. This will help us sustain CSA and we appreciate your support.

Church Security Basics 1: Introduction Video The O.O.D.A. Loop

The video, notes, test, and certificate will be available on our training page in the near future. Church Security Alliance

12 Comments

Pat Fuller
on January 27, 2019 at 10:26 am

Great video . I am an Alabama State Trooper Reserve officer an NRA firearms instructor. I receive about one call a month from interested churches about setting up a security team. I Always refer them to your Website . I love your training process its all about building something. I look forward to all your videos. Thanks for your passion about something that is very important.

This intro to Church Security Basics and the intro to O.O.D.A. Loop made sense. Thanks for this short intro video and look forward to the next. I’m always looking at your online training videos available to help our Security Ministry better prepare. Thanks.

More people need to understand and know about the first O Observation.
I think this is the number one process people do not consider or do, and if they do, they don’t do it very well. They usually think it will not happen here…wrong!
I’m on a security team at my place of work (I’m not LEO) and we do active shooter training in our facility every 6 months or so with employees acting as the bad guy and witnesses. This will bring up your adrenaline big time and you start to lose focus…observation as to which way to perform the second O orient yourself for the best shot, know your background, and others in the vicinity to the threat. This is why I feel the ushers should not be used as security, security needs to be attentive at all times and not concerned where to seat the saints or conducting communion. These will prove to be a distraction to their observation of any threats. And this is what the threat is hoping will happen at the church, so their OODA loop is not thrown off.

Keep up the good work, I only wish other Sheep Dogs out there could get good training.
Things are only going to get worse, which for the Saints means the Rapture is that much closer, which is a very good thing…no security needed then!
MARANATHA!!

Our Church has a Safety and Security Team made up of Active and retired Law Enforcement. We also have a couple of EMTs. A lot of this training is along the line of what they have been trained in on the job. Is there anything you suggest for training this kind of group. The video you posted is great. Looking forward to more like that.

Tough group to train! However, a great resource of good life experience. The big idea is to come up with coordinated responses, that is a basic idea of what you will do in specific circumstances most likely to be faced by your team members. For example, if your policy has a policy about suspicious packages, disruptive parishioner/visitor, act of violence – figure out what your team wants to do and what is most appropriate. We have a policy and procedure manual in our Starter Kit. My goal is to provide short videos to give you something to talk through/work through.

Thanks Glen, Really appreciate the video well thought and planning. Do you have a phone number to shear Have in-depth question.you have been a great help and benefits to our Church…Peace and blessings to you and yours. Thanks again.